World of Warcraft is officially 20 years old, marked by Warcraft‘s recent 30th Anniversary Direct which delved into the history of the game, its current state, and what players can expect moving forward. In the Direct, Blizzard outlined its plans for World of Warcraft: The War Within‘s next big patch, titled “Undermined,” which finally takes players to the goblin capital city of Undermine where they will form alliances with the goblin cartel as the ongoing story progresses. Players won’t be merely walking through the streets of Undermine, however, as Undermined will see the release of a brand-new ground mount that is much faster than any ground mount before it — D.R.I.V.E.
Game Rant recently had the opportunity to participate in a group interview with lead quest designer Mark Kelada following Warcraft‘s 30th Anniversary Direct about the ins and outs of the new D.R.I.V.E. mount in World of Warcraft and what players can expect from the customization and driving process. During the interview, Kelada broke down everything there is to know about D.R.I.V.E.’s customization potential, speed, and some of what players can expect to see in the future.
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A Breakdown of World of Warcraft’s D.R.I.V.E. Mount
World of Warcraft’s New D.R.I.V.E. Mount Has the Potential to Be Its Fastest Yet
Apart from its unprecedented customization, perhaps the loudest boast of the new D.R.I.V.E. mount is that it’s much faster than a standard World of Warcraft ground mount. However, apparently, D.R.I.V.E. can be customized to be even faster. This begs the question of whether the new mount will be manageable enough for players to maintain control of it without constantly crashing it into walls. After all, flying over cities is one thing, but attempting to drive through one with what will now be World of Warcraft‘s fastest ground mount will likely be an entirely different story. When asked about that aspect of D.R.I.V.E., Kelada replied:
Manageable enough not to crash into walls? Well, I think that will come down to the skill of the driver and the car. The reason why I say that is that the speed of the hot rod is anywhere from 3 to 5 times faster than your default ground mount at base, having customized nothing. And then, at its maximum speed, I think it goes 10% faster than Dragonriding for a short period of time. It is bonkers quick. So, very hard to pull that off, but if you can, congratulations, you have hit Mach 10, and you’re breaking the sound barrier at that point in terms of speed.
Of course, as Kelada said, achieving this kind of speed is only possible through D.R.I.V.E.’s customization options, which is a system World of Warcraft has never seen in its mounts. Currently, Dragonriding is around 660% faster than ground running speed, so it’s difficult to imagine D.R.I.V.E. topping this, especially as a ground mount. However, Kelada did mention that it would be difficult for players to get D.R.I.V.E. to its maximum speed, but, as game director Ion Hazzikostas said in the Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct, Undermine was built for speed.
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Players Will Be Able to Customize and Even Race the New D.R.I.V.E. Mount
While Hazzikostas briefed viewers on some basic details about the D.R.I.V.E. mount during the 30th Anniversary Direct, there are quite a few more specifics Kelada was able to disclose during the interview, including an idea currently in the works that hasn’t been implemented just yet. Speaking further about D.R.I.V.E.’s plentiful customization options, Kelada added:
In terms of the customization, you can either go more towards grip or more towards drift; you can go towards efficiency in terms of your boost, or you can go towards more max speed; you can change engine characteristics if you want to in terms of how much top speed you want versus acceleration; and then also, colors are another big one. Lastly, we’re currently discussing a companion based in the cartel that can ride with you in the hot rod and contribute in some way.
Obviously, it’s impossible to know currently how all of these different options will feel, which is ultimately what’s going to determine players’ preferences. As such, players will likely be encouraged to experiment with different builds to find the one that suits their personal style best. Furthermore, it’s possible Kelada and Hazzikostas haven’t yet revealed every customization option that will be available for the D.R.I.V.E. mount with the release of the Undermined patch, so there may be even more possibilities in the end.
Finally, as WoW: The War Within features timed Skyriding races that players can participate in via the Time Keepers scattered throughout each zone, it was previously left unmentioned whether Undermined would feature the same for the patch’s new D.R.I.V.E. mount. On that note, Kelada clarified:
We do have a version of Skyriding races but with the car currently in Undermine. And then, if players want to put on their favorite music, decide on landmarks, and then set up a time trial, please do. Undermine is very much built for it in terms of road width, and then we do have the forward and reverse courses that you can do by talking to the Time Keepers there.
The developers were also asked about the potential for D.R.I.V.E. to eventually inherit the ability to fly, to which Hazzikostas remarked on making some “Back to the Future jokes” about it, but that is not something Blizzard is currently considering. Nevertheless, D.R.I.V.E. is a big leap forward for World of Warcraft mounts, and it will be interesting to see where it goes from here, especially if the hot rod is eventually made usable anywhere. For now, players will have to stick to the streets of the goblin capital city of Undermine once the patch arrives in 2025, but that may be more than enough to see the new mount reach its full potential.
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